Gorillas, Game Parks & Beaches

Jambo! Welcome to Kenya.

Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting at 6pm on Day 1.

You can arrive at any time as there are no activities planned until this important meeting; please ask the hotel reception where it will take place. If your flight arrives too late, we recommend that you consider arriving a day early and book a night's accommodation prior to the trip so you are able to attend. If you are going to be late please inform the hotel reception. We'll be collecting your kitty, insurance details and next of kin information at this meeting so please ensure you have all details on hand to provide to your leader.

Nairobi - which takes its name from a Maasai phrase meaning 'place of cool waters' - has a cosmopolitan atmosphere. There are plenty of good bars and restaurants, while markets and shops have most things you could want or need, as well as various arts and crafts from the region. If you arrive early, you can head out and explore the National Museum of Kenya, the Karen Blixen Museum (author of Out of Africa) or Bomas of Kenya where traditional homesteads of several Kenyan tribes are displayed in an outdoor village.

Stay in a simple hotel with swimming pool, restaurant and en suite bathrooms.

Optional Activities

National Museum, Nairobi - USD14.00

Karen Blixen museum, Nairobi - USD14.00

Bomas, Nairobi - USD10.00

Nairobi National Park safari walk, Nairobi - USD20.00

Carnivore restaurant, Nairobi - USD35.00

Accommodation

Hotel (1 nt)

Drive north-west past great views of the Rift Valley, Lake Naivasha and Elementaita to Lake Nakuru National Park, situated in the heart of the Great Rift Valley (170 km, approx 3-4 hrs).

Lake Nakuru National Park's small and compact area, based around a flamingo-filled lake, makes it a great location for spotting wildlife. Along with the other members of the Big Five, Lake Nakuru harbours many rhinos and will be the best chance to get a great picture of these magnificent beasts.

Arrive in time for a short evening game drive along the shore of the lake.

Tonight's campground is beautifully located - but it's very basic, having drop toilets and basic showers.

Stop along the way in the town of Gilgil where we'll learn more about one of our foundation projects, the Saidia Children's Home Project. This project isn't just about the children - they also have a 'Grannie' project which helps elders too. More info is on their website: www.saidia-gilgil.org.uk/.

Included Activities

Game drives

Accommodation

Camping (with facilities) (1 nt)

Up early this morning, we only have tea or coffee before going back into the park for a morning game drive. Return to camp for brunch before driving to Eldoret (200 km, approx 5-6 hrs).

One of Kenya's fastest growing towns, Eldoret is home to some of Kenya's most famous runners due to its high altitude.

Camp on the outskirts of Eldoret.

Cross the border into Uganda and travel on to its capital city, Kampala (390 km, approx 8-9 hrs).

Kampala is the capital of landlocked Uganda. With a population of over 30 million, it's one of the five countries that make up the East African Community. It's a country of great cultural diversity and in recent years has been one of the most progressive in the region in terms of health education relating to HIV.

Once the heart of the Buganda Kingdom, Kampala is a bustling city spread over several hills and valleys. It's a great place to wander around on foot, exploring its many markets and shops.

Camp on the outskirts of the city.

Accommodation

Camping (with facilities) (2 nts)

Travel to Kibale Forest National Park (350 km, approx 6-7 hrs).

The most accessible of Uganda's major rainforests, Kibale Forest National Park is home to the highest concentration of primates in the world, with twelve different species recorded. The main attractions are the park's 500 chimpanzees, which have been habituated to human visitors. More closely related to humans than any other living creature, the chimpanzees are a delight to watch as they squabble and play in fruiting trees.

We'll take a 2-4 hour walking safari that gives us the amazing opportunity to watch the way the chimps feed, climb trees, respond to humans and care for their young ones. It's a phenomenal experience and a real highlight. This is a guided walk through thick hilly jungle. You'll need to take water bottles, raincoats, good walking boots and perhaps a walking stick.

There's plenty for you to see and do in this beautiful area, including walks to villages, tea plantations, rivers, lakes or just relaxing around the campsite.

Camp in a basic campground that has showers and flush toilets.

Included Activities

Kibale tea plantation & village visit

Chimpanzee trek

Accommodation

Camping (with facilities) (2 nts)

Cross the border into Rwanda and travel toward Ruhengeri, via Kigali (200 km, approx 6-7 hrs).

Rwanda's capital, Kigali, is a great place to explore on foot - from its market areas to the infamous Hotel Rwanda. Visit Kigali's very moving genocide memorial. We may visit the memorial on the way to Ruhengeri or on our return.

Ruhengeri is the gateway to Volcanoes National Park.

We allow two days for gorilla visits as you are assigned a trekking group/time on your permit. The group may be split up into different trekking groups during the day, or even over two days, depending on the time of permit issue and group size. There is a maximum group size of eight on each gorilla visit.   This region is one of the last remaining sanctuaries for the mountain gorilla. No more than eight per day can visit any one habituated family and visits are strictly controlled to minimize the possibility of disturbance or transmission of disease to the animals.

Tracking gorillas in the dense forest can sometimes be wet, muddy and uncomfortable. The terrain is by no means easy either, so it can be pretty strenuous and often humid, but the sheer thrill in coming across a habituated group of gorillas, dominated by a great male silverback, more than outweighs any difficulty. You need to be prepared and fit enough to walk up to 4 hours - up and down hill. We can usually get very close to the mountain gorillas, who are placid and gentle, and watching their movements is like seeing a mirror image of yourself. Your visit with the gorillas will last one unforgettable hour.

When you are waiting for, or have completed, your gorilla visit, your leader will provide you with options and ideas on how you can spend your time in the area around Ruhengeri.

Stay in dormitories at a local church mission.

Included Activities

Genocide Memorial

Mountain gorilla trek; permit

Optional Activities

Diane Fossey Memorial, Ruhengeri - USD75.00

Golden monkeys, Ruhengeri - USD100.00

Mt Visoke hiking (full day), Ruhengeri - USD75.00

Nature walk, Ruhengeri - USD55.00

Accommodation

Dormitory (3 nts)

Travel to the border with Uganda where we'll complete the border formalities. It's possible for most nationalities to purchase a re-entry visa at this land crossing but please check before travelling. Then head to Lake Mburo (420 km, approx 9-10 hrs).

The flora of Lake Mburo National Park is acacia woodland, different to most other parks in East Africa, which means its fauna is also different to other reserves. It's the best place in the country to see the gigantic eland antelope and has about 68 different species of mammals including zebras, impalas, buffalo, leopards, hyenas and jackals. There are five lakes within the park which are home to hippos, crocodiles and a variety of waterbirds, while the papyrus swamps provide cover for the sitatunga antelope and red, black and yellow papyrus gonalek. This small park is less well-known among tourists so it's much quieter than some of the more famous East African parks.

Camp on the shores of the lake at a stunning location surrounded by wildlife. The campground is beautifully located - but very basic, having drop toilets and basic showers.

Accommodation

Camping (with facilities) (1 nt)

Before breakfast we have a two-hour guided walking safari through the Lake Mburo National Park allowing us to see some of the animals and spectacular birdlife.

Travel from Lake Mburo to Jinja via Kampala, stopping en route at the equator (340 km, approx 7-8 hrs). Jinja is one of the highlights of any visit to Uganda. Located at the source of the Nile as it leaves Lake Victoria, this is a place for the adventurer, the adrenaline junkie and the eco-traveller who wants to do something really worthwhile in a beautiful area.

Camp at a scenic riverside retreat with showers and flush toilets.

Included Activities

Entrance & walking safari

Optional Activities

River Nile rafting (full day), Jinja - USD125.00

Accommodation

Camping (with facilities) (2 nts)

Begin the journey back to Nairobi, making an overnight stop in the cheese town of Eldoret along the way (300 km, approx 7-8 hrs). Continue on to Nairobi early the next morning (370 km, approx 7-8 hrs).

As this is a combination trip, your group leader and the composition of your group may change at this location. There will be a group meeting to discuss the next stage of your itinerary, meet your new fellow travellers, and collect the next part of your kitty.

Accommodation

Camping (with facilities) (1 nt), Hotel (1 nt)

Depart early for Arusha on our overland truck, a drive of about 8-9 hours (300 km). The trip includes a border crossing from Kenya into Tanzania so be sure to have your passport handy.

Arusha is the gateway to some of Tanzania's most popular tourist destinations including the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara and Mt Kilimanjaro.

Our campsite is in Meserani, on the outskirts of Arusha, and has flush toilets and showers.

Accommodation

Camping (with facilities) (1 nt)

This morning we drive for 1.5hrs to reach the village of Mto wa Mbu where we participate in a local community village program. A small village community, Mto Wa Mbu offers an excellent way to get a close-up look at life in an African town away from the main tourist trail.

Join the local community with a guided stroll around the farming areas - including visits to a kindergarten, milling machine, local homes and farmlands. This is a great way to have fun and find out more about the life of the locals. You'll also have the chance to look around the town and visit the local market. You may wish to indulge in a spot of shopping - wood carvings and local artworks are the specialities of this area.

Depending on the following day's schedule, we may stay here for the night or travel further west ( 40 minutes ) to the village of Karatu.

Stay at a campsite with flush toilets and showers.

Included Activities

Village walk; market

Accommodation

Camping (with facilities) (1 nt)

Rise early and leave the truck behind, putting our camping and personal gear into six-person jeeps and heading out for our excursion into the Serengeti. The wide, open plains of the Serengeti - green after the rains, brown and burnt in the dry season, and home to thousands of hoofed animals and fierce predators - are perhaps the quintessential image of Africa. Flat and rolling with long grasses and dotted with acacia trees, the plains get their name from the Maasai word Siringitu - 'the place where the land moves on forever'.

Game viewing in the Serengeti is amazing and as you camp out at night, don't be surprised to hear lions in the distance as you recount your wildlife sightings from the day. In normal circumstances, we would expect to see the Big Five during our stay in the Serengeti.

Our campsite is within the Serengeti itself so listen out for the sounds of nocturnal animals as you drift off to sleep. The bush camp is quite basic with drop toilets and cold showers. For an unforgettable experience, you might like to do an optional sunrise balloon ride over the Serengeti. If you have pre-booked this activity (please see 'Important Notes'), you'll be picked up and driven to the launch site where you receive a safety briefing from your pilot and help inflate the balloon. You'll then float over the Serengeti as the sun comes up gaining an overview of the immensity of the Serengeti, seeing the abundance of wildlife in their early morning activity and sometimes descending to tree height for amazing wildlife photography opportunities. Upon landing, you'll be treated to a five-star bush breakfast before being returned to your accommodation.

You'll notice many Maasai villages in the region of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. While it's of course fascinating to visit different cultures, past experience has shown that these villages exist primarily as tourism businesses offering somewhat contrived performances of their traditional ways. You'll be charged an entry fee of approx US$20-35 and the Maasai will try very hard to sell souvenirs to you. While many clients still enjoy the experience, others have found it artificial and uncomfortable. We recommend our travellers bypass this activity as our Kenyan colleagues observe that it negatively impacts the Maasai culture and travellers' perception of this culture.

Included Activities

Game drives

Optional Activities

Balloon ride, Serengeti National Park - USD500.00

Accommodation

Camping (with basic facilities) (2 nts)

Rise with the sun as we make an early start, exiting the Serengeti and heading for the world-famous Ngorongoro Crater (approx 3 hrs drive). After a picnic lunch, we descend onto the floor of the crater.

Make the most of our safari in the crater, spending between four and five hours exploring this area.

A huge, perfectly intact volcanic crater, Ngorongoro is home to some 30,000 animals including endangered black rhinos, lions, leopards, elephants, impalas, zebras and hippos. The crater floor offers excellent game viewing all year round and the photographic opportunities here are unrivaled.

Stay at a campsite with flush toilets and showers.

Included Activities

Game drive

Accommodation

Camping (with facilities) (1 nt)

Back on board our truck, climb high onto the slopes of Kilimanjaro to the village of Marangu, via Moshi (270 km, approx 5-7 hrs).

Meet the very special kids of the Amani Children's Home in Moshi. Amani supports street children, giving them a safe place to stay and educational and emotional support. Check out the new school, which has been built with the help of donors, and be inspired by this project which is changing these children's lives. For more information on this project visit www.amanikids.org.

Camp in the grounds of the Marangu Hotel, a beautiful turn-of-the-century farmhouse set in 12 acres of delightful tropical gardens. Upgrades are available on request and the hotel also has a great bar and pool.

Included Activities

Visit and donation to Amani Children's Home - en route to Marangu

Accommodation

Camping (with facilities) (1 nt)

Take a walking tour of Mshiri Village, the base for the Village Education Project, and witness the day-to-day life of the Chagga people, long established as crop-growers on the fertile slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro. Walk around their shamba (farm) and have the chance to sample the local Chagga food, which is very filling. For more information on the Village Education Project visit www.kiliproject.org.

Visit nearby waterfalls and stop to admire the view of the plains below. If the weather is clear, get a view of Kilimanjaro - the magnificent snow-capped mountain and Africa's highest peak at 5,895 m (19,340 ft).

It's time to get off the well-beaten track and head into the remote Tanzanian mountains (265 km, approx 7 hrs). The Usambara Mountains are a lovely unspoilt area of Tanzania. Unlike the coast and the north, very few tourists visit this area so it has a freshness that can be hard to find elsewhere. The mountains are located in the north-east of Tanzania, between Kilimanjaro and the Indian Ocean, and overlook the vast Masai steppe. They are wonderfully lush and green and the area has been dubbed the Galapagos of the plant world. The forests stretch across the mountains and are ideal for easy hikes and guided walks. As beautiful as the place is, its real jewels are the local people and villages.

Explore the beautiful Usambara Mountains and experience this area's gentle hospitality on a visit to some of its small communities. From our base, we'll organise a short days walking trip out to the beautiful Irente viewpoint. On our way back, visit a local cultural and ecological project based at Irente farm and enjoy a picnic lunch.

Our base is the old German colony of Lushoto where we stay in the grounds of one of the earliest hotels in Africa. Our campsite has flush toilets and showers.

Included Activities

Village Education Project visit, village walk; lunch

Irente day walk; local lunch

Accommodation

Camping (with facilities) (2 nts)

Leaving the mountains behind, a long travel day takes us further south towards the coastal city of Dar es Salaam (380 km, approx 9-11 hrs).

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's old capital, means 'Haven of Peace'. Many of its buildings display Arabian influence and the port area is fascinating to visit with its ocean-going dhows and inshore ngalawas (out-rigger fishing canoes). The camp is on the grounds of a hotel and has flush toilets and showers. Feel free to jump in the ocean and have a swim.

Accommodation

Camping (with facilities) (1 nt)

Catch a ferry to the 'Spice Island' of Zanzibar (approx 90 mins).

Filled with idyllic beaches, winding cobblestone alleyways and fragrant bazaars, Zanzibar's rich history involves everything from slave traders to Arabian sultans and fruit exporters. The sight of traditional dhows sailing along the coast invokes images of what the island was like back in the days of Livingstone.

The old part of Zanzibar's main city is known as Stone Town. The best way to see this exotic port town is on foot, exploring the bazaars, shops, mosques, palaces, courtyards and myriad intricate alleyways. When the sun is setting, why not enjoy a sundowner from a bar overlooking the seafront before trying one of the island's local seafood curries at one of the town's many restaurants.

Spend a night in Stone Town at a basic inn with double/twin-share rooms.

Enjoy a tour of the inland plantations where Zanzibar's famous spices grow. First, discover the sights of old Stone Town, where you will hear a history of the slave market and delight in a local meal. Next, you will drive to the spice plantations where you'll receive a guided tour and the opportunity to touch, smell and taste various spices such as cinnamon, vanilla and ginger, as well as teas made with these spices. At the end of the day there will also be an opportunity to buy some of the locally grown spices.

On our second and third days here, we head to the northern beaches and enjoy white sand and sparkling blue sea - the Indian Ocean at its best. Try snorkeling and diving, eat sumptuous seafood or simply relax in a hammock underneath a coconut tree with a good book.

Instead of the group catching the ferry back to the mainland together, this trip now finishes in Zanzibar at the Safari Lodge. Please note that the Kitty still includes the cost of the return Ferry ticket back to Dar Es Salaam. Your leader will help you organise the return leg of the ferry with this money. Alternatively if you do not wish to catch the ferry back to Dar es Salaam, your leader will refund you $20USD.

Ferries depart Zanzibar for Dar Es Salaam daily at 0730hrs, 0930hrs, 1230hrs and 1530hrs and take approx. 2hrs.

Please allow enough time to get back to the mainland if you need to catch your departing flight from Dar Es Salaam. Speak to your leader about the best way to do this. There are no activities planned for the final day and you are able to depart our accommodation at any time. Please check the 'Finishing Point Hotel' section for checkout times and luggage storage possibilities.

Included Activities

Spice tour

Optional Activities

Dhow trip, Zanzibar - USD40.00

Scuba diving, Zanzibar - USD80.00

Snorkelling, Zanzibar - USD40.00

Prison island tour, Zanzibar - USD25.00

Accommodation

Bungalow (2 nts), Hotel (1 nt)